Midwest Party --from get-together to reunion

We can’t thank Zhang Xiaoxi enough for her family’s warmest hospitality to entertain us while Qiao Xin, Li Li and I were in Chicago in mid-March 2003. We felt honored to have a chance to visit their gorgeous newly built house, to taste their delicate delicious authentic oriental food and to meet our newly found alumnus, Mr. Zhang Hanyi from Class 1, who has lived in Chicago area for over a decade and had not been aware by us.

We just met Zhang Xiaoxi the previous weekend at LA, but the evening in Chicago was still felt short for us to exchange views of life and share our alumni’s updates. Our mood was higher when memories brought us back to Cultural Revolution and campus life legends. We sighed and were speechless at our alumni’s up and down as well as their choices of life, and we burst into laughter with tears at Qiao Xin’s recollection of Tian An Men Square where he sneaked into a peaceful, orderly area where people were waiting for Chairman Mao’s appearance from a restricted area with security guards waving long bamboo poles to prevent crowd from pouring into the square. We were greatly amused by Qiao Xin’s witty remarks and Da Li’s(Xiao Xi’s husband) concise summary through the evening. 

Zhang Hanyi did not change a lot, well-preserved with a baby face just like at campus. His mystery of keeping fit and young is unknown and I guess it might be from a power of belief, gratitude for life or a more-giving-less taking attitude. We are glad for Zhang Xiaoxi who is no longer a “sole commander” in the Midwest. 

Reunion was brought up in the evening as well. It ‘s a lifetime occasion for you and me to see each other again at campus after two decades. After graduation, we were tied up with our lives and careers and ignored or limited the connections among the graduates. At middle age, a sense of life recollection begins to grow and the pictures of young innocent looks and smiles at campus emerge from time to time. We will remember what collective or group life was: same classroom, same courses, same sport team, same performance team, same path going between dorm, canteen and teaching building and same meals taken everyday. For a class of about twenty, after four-year college life, though it was not life & death nor body & shadow, we built up a friendship or bond from sharing sweet & sweat, from study a same textbook, etc. I think that’s why we will not miss a chance to be gathered even after twenty years and still find endless topics and flashbacks that make our today’s life more meaningful. 

I hope to see more alumni at campus to re-identify, reconnect and reunite. Just picture that: four-year education teaching us nothing in seeking political career(Dan Guan) or building own business (Xia Hai) but English literature and Maxism /Leninism and offered positions working as ‘Gong Jun’ (communist army) at graduation, after 20 years, the graduates who were born in new society and grew with five star flag will get together at campus with various careers and multi nationalities coming from 5 continents. This is not a competition reunion and nothing to feel shamed of if you think you are in down side of your life. Friendship is renewed , life is re-evaluated and becomes more comprehensive at reunion. I am sure I will cherish life with more enjoyment after reunion because I will have witnessed changes of life in you. If there’s something else I feel or gain, I will be overjoyed and might be another milestone in my life.

Today, the war is still undergoing and lives are challenged. I just wish all our alumni luck and see you at reunion. Finally, thank you again, Xiaoxi , for the Midwest unforgettable party!

Feng Yongliang